


A Two Week Trial Run

by Chie (Chierafied)



Series: Fandom Events JL [19]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Muggle, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Jily Challenge April, One Night Stands, Romance, and they were quarantined
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24996727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chierafied/pseuds/Chie
Summary: A random one night stand unexpectedly leads to something more for James and Lily - a fourteen-day quarantine.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Fandom Events JL [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/881859
Comments: 24
Kudos: 90





	A Two Week Trial Run

**Author's Note:**

> For Jily challenge April 2020  
>  **Prompt:** "lily had a random one night stand but when she tries to sneak out the morning after she finds out that her one night stands' flatmate tested positive and so lily, james and sirius all have to quarantine together in james tiny apartment for 14 days, chaos ensues"

Casual sex wasn't something Lily Evans had. Ever.

She didn't judge those who chose to do so, but it just wasn't for her.

Or that’s what she had thought, anyway, because whoo, last night... 

Last night had sure taught her to never say never, Lily mused, staring at the bloke beside her softly snoring in the mussed up bed.

He'd been funny and fit and charming when they'd met at the pub. Lily had appreciated the flirting; she'd had several drinks in her and had been feeling down and in a need of a pick-me-up.

And her girlfriends – Marlene especially – had egged her on until Lily had finally given in. Why the hell not? What did she have to lose?

So she'd left the pub with him, had some really good sex back at his place and fallen asleep.

It was only now in the harsh light of the morning and with her head pounding from the hangover that regret was starting to creep in.

Well, not regret exactly, Lily amended, watching the guy's face scrunch up in the most adorable way in his sleep.

More like a minor existential and/or identity crisis because Lily _wasn't_ this person who got shit-faced and went home with a guy. 

Except she’d proven herself wrong on all accounts last night. 

Not only had she had a one night stand with a total stranger, she had also enjoyed every second of it – that she could remember at least.

These mental crises were not making Lily's head hurt any less so she pushed them aside.

Priorities: find her clothes, dress, find her handbag, dry-swallow a pain killer, sneak out, walk of shame. 

Lily hadn't even got out of the bed when the door of the room suddenly banged open.

"Mate, you are not gonna believe – who the hell are you?"

Confused, Lily stared at the young man standing in the doorway wearing a band t-shirt and a disgruntled expression. 

Briefly, Lily wondered if he had a hangover too because judging from that pale cast of his face and the hoarse voice he seemed to be doing just as poorly as Lily – if not worse.

The bang from the door being so rudely flung open had startled Lily's companion awake.

He was sitting up now, his black hair sticking up every which way as he groggily reached for his glasses from the bedside table.

"None of your damn business," Lily snapped, crossing her arms.

The man swung to glare at the yawning man next to Lily.

"What did or didn't you do to her, James? Being so cross first thing in the morning."

"Maybe she is cross because first thing in the morning because you decided to burst into the bloody room," James replied.

He slanted Lily a glance and offered a small, crooked smile.

"This is my flatmate, Sirius. He can be a bit of a prick so just feel free to ignore him."

“I wouldn’t recommend ignoring me,” Sirius immediately retorted. “Not until you hear me out.”

James sighed and flopped back, his head slapping against the pillow.

“What is it?”

“I got the results.”

“What?”

“The test I had to take, remember?” Sirius huffed. “I tested positive for the thing.”

James sat up again, his knuckles white where he clutched at the blanket.

“What?  _ You what _ ?”

Lily’s gaze flitted between the two men, the heavy feeling in her stomach having nothing to do with the nausea she’d been trying to ignore.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice faltering.

“Sirius has the virus,” was James’ grim answer.

“ _ What? _ ”

“I got orders to go into quarantine for at least two weeks,” Sirius continued. “And so should anyone who I may have exposed to the stupid thing so… Welcome to  _ Chez _ Potter-Black, Miss None of your business.”

Beside her, James was cussing up a storm and pulling at his hair.

Lily crawled under the blanket. 

Was this karma? she wondered. The universe agreeing that one night stands weren’t her thing and eagerly teaching her a lesson?

Whatever the reason behind the current mess of a situation, Lily didn’t like it one bit.

She pulled a pillow to cover her face. And screamed.

* * *

  
  


Once the anger had gone, panic settled in.

James could understand it, he was feeling rather upset for the turn of the events himself and swamped with guilt at having dragged Lily to this mess. He probably shouldn’t have gone out to the pub last night, but he’d just been so sick of Sirius’ drama queen act and bitching that he’d had to get out. 

And just because Sirius had been on the skiing trip in Austria with Remus recently didn’t have to mean anything. He certainly hadn’t been showing much of the symptoms the media kept talking about. The virus had felt like a distant thing; the test Sirius had been to little more than a formality to make sure everything was fine.

But now nothing was fine, James thought glumly, slumping against his headboard.

The only tiny glimmer of light in the current mess they’d found themselves in was that Lily was still here, and would remain here at his flat for the next two weeks.

It was a rotten thing to cling to, James was ready to admit that. But even so, he didn’t mind at all having her around.

He’d been so surprised that she had even agreed to come back to his place last night. He’d been halfway in love with her, cliché as that was, before they’d as much as crossed the threshold of his flat.

And those feelings hadn’t faded in the light of the day.

He sat, still in his bed and watched Lily as she paced his room. She made for a fascinating sight, and even with the pale, wan face and the mussed up hair she was so beautiful James’ heart ached. She was muttering to herself while she paced, and from the snatches James could hear, he understood she was comprising a to-do -list of some kind.

James was more of a spontaneous nature, so seeing someone come up with a plan so fast was super impressive.

Then, Lily stopped pacing and went to dig around in the handbag she’d had with her last night. She pulled out her phone and swore.

“Do you have a charger I can borrow? I need to ring a ton of people.”

“Of course.” James scrambled out of the bed. “And if it isn’t compatible with your phone you can use mine to ring as many people as you need.”

They found the charger, and soon enough Lily’s phone was charging.

The two of them sat back down on the bed, side by side, and looked out of the window to the grey London skies.

“I’m sorry,” James blurted out. “This isn’t how I thought this morning would go.”

“It’s okay,” Lily said. “I mean it’s not. It’s messed up. But I don’t think this is your fault.”

For a moment, they sat in silence.

James’ fingers itched to pull Lily close, but he didn’t want to presume or overstep. Just because they’d been together last night didn’t mean they were, well,  _ together _ .

“So,” Lily said after a while, “out of curiosity, how did you think this morning would go?”

James swallowed. He buried his nervous fingers in his hair.

“Um. That, well… I was hoping to cook you a nice breakfast I guess. And get your number.”

James slanted Lily a glance and saw a wry smile twist her lips.

“A nice breakfast, huh? I suppose we can have that much at least. As soon as my stomach is settled and I sort this thing out a bit.”

“Sure, of course.” James met her eyes. “I promise I’ll do whatever I can so you’ll be as comfortable here as possible.”

Warmth flashed in her stormy green eyes. “Thank you.”

“Right.” James tugged at his hair. “I’m going to leave you to it. Give you some privacy so you can ring whomever. And get that breakfast started.”

James was already getting to his feet when Lily’s arms came around him.

He froze, his giddy heart leaping into his throat as he held her close for a much too short a moment.

But any moment with Lily in his arms was better than one without her, so he welcomed it, and the small glimmer of hope that sparked in his heart.

* * *

  
  


Lily had called in sick to work. She’d got Marlene to bring over a bag with a bunch of clothes and other essentials. And she’d more or less settled in, awkward as it had been at first. 

James had been wonderfully accommodating and had pretty much given his whole room for her to use. He wasn’t the issue.

Neither was his flatmate, Sirius. Despite their less than favourable first meeting, Lily was starting to slowly like Sirius, ridiculous as he was. He didn’t appear to be all that sick, but he was milking it for all it was worth. 

Having had a male best friend, many many years ago, Lily had personal experience with the whole man-flu thing. And it hadn’t taken Lily very long to realise that Sirius was all about the drama.

No, both blokes were kinda brilliant in their ways. The awkwardness of the first few days was mainly because of the minor identity crisis that still haunted Lily. 

Besides, she just didn’t know how to feel about James, because, well… He seemed like a great guy but it was odd to have had shared such intimacy with someone she was only now starting to know.

And that’s why you don’t do one night stands, Lily chided herself while furiously kneading bread dough in James’ tiny kitchen.

The kitchen was barely bigger than a cupboard, but it had become a retreat for Lily. As long as she was in there, baking, the boys would leave her alone. 

Much as Lily did love socialising with her friends, she was an introvert at heart. 

And suddenly forced to share very limited living quarters with two strangers, one of which was ill and very extra and the other super fit and sweet and confusing and also utterly going stir-crazy though it was only their third day in, well… 

Fun as the guys seemed, Lily needed some time for herself. 

Baking had always been one of the ways she dealt with stress, and with two young men in the house, both in a possession of a bottomless stomach, it all worked out pretty well.

Lily had reached her inner zen and was just finishing shaping the loaf when the sound of James clearing his throat bought her back to reality.

“Sorry. I’m gonna squeeze past you,” he warned, then walked into the kitchen. 

In the very confined space, it was impossible not to be aware of him. She had to bite her lip when he slipped past her, his arm brushing her back.

Her nerves were humming, instantly standing at attention. And much as Lily had chided herself about the one night stand in the past couple of days, it once again became painfully clear that her body had no regrets.

Thankfully, James appeared oblivious about the reaction his presence and proximity caused because he proceeded to open the fridge.

“Didn’t wanna bother you so I tried telling Sirius he could wait a while and I’d get him a coke later but… Well, you can imagine how that went down.”

“I’m half surprised I didn’t hear the resulting tirade,” Lily said, staring at her loaf of bread.

“Well, clearly you’re preoccupied.” James stood in front of the fridge for a while, and Lily could feel the weight of his gaze on her. “You don’t have to keep doing this, you know.”

“Doing what?” Surprised, she looked up and at him, though just a moment before she’d promised herself she wouldn’t. Ignoring him was safer. 

“Baking. We can cook. Sirius is a pretty great cook when he isn’t busy playing the sickly frail little princess. And you’re our guest. And –”

“And nothing,” Lily cut in. “I know Sirius is milking it but he is sick, and letting a contagious person prepare food isn’t the best idea.”

“You’re right. Sorry. Still, it’s not fair to you. Let me help.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Lily said, her heart beating just a little faster. “But there’s only enough room for one chef in this kitchen.”

“Quite right,” James admitted with a chuckle. “I can all but feel the walls closing in on me.”

Lily smiled at her loaf. “Look, I promise I don’t mind. I enjoy baking and it relaxes me and I need relaxing in my life right now.”

“I hear that,” James said, with a rueful edge to his tone. “Every time I open the news it seems this virus is getting worse and worse.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, as long as you’re sure we’re not taking advantage,” James said, shifting from one foot to another.

“You are not,” Lily assured him. “And you are helping out a lot; you can’t really expect me to eat this all by myself.” 

James cast a look around the kitchen. When he spoke, Lily could hear the smile in his voice. “Yeah, that might take you a while.”

“And then I’d burst and that wouldn’t be pretty,” Lily said. She gestured at brownies that were cooling on the counter. “Take one to Sirius, maybe it will shut him up for a moment.”

“You are amazing,” James told her, sending her heart into a wild flutter.

Then, he left the kitchen with the bottle of coke and two brownies he snatched from the pan as he passed. 

His laughter, however, lingered. And when Lily finally slid her bread into the oven, she was still grinning like an idiot.

* * *

  
  


The days dragged on slowly, even though the three of them had found various ways to entertain themselves in the small two-bedroom flat.

They’d had a video game tournament, which Sirius had naturally won. The surprise – to all of them, it seemed – was that Lily had come in second. After that, they had gone on to binge-watch every single episode of Queer Eye available on Netflix. 

There had been many long conversations spanning a whole variety of topics. 

And, of course, endless squabbles because that’s what happens when three differing temperaments, all of them in various states of ill-humour, were forced to share a confined space for an extended period of time. 

There had been one spectacular evening of badly sung karaoke to songs found on Youtube. That had helped to balance nicely the countless hours they had spent playing Scrabble or Texas hold ‘em. 

Lily had been filling their kitchen with all manners of baked goods and James had become a clean freak, tidying up the place and disinfecting surfaces several times a day.

And despite all these diverting pastimes James was still the one who was handling it the worst, which was a feat considering that this was  _ his _ flat and unlike Lily, he hadn’t been stuck in an unfamiliar environment with two strangers. 

But James was an active person. And an extroverted person. He loved going out. Without his regular morning jog, the stress was really building up. 

He’d tried getting some move on with the help of the home work out videos that the internet was suddenly full of, but it just wasn’t the same.

Lily’s presence wasn’t exactly calming either. Although James loved to have her around, she seemed to possess the unique ability to render James instantly back to his fifteen-year-old self: jittery, stammering, and desperately wanting to appear cool in front of his crush, the initials of whom he kept doodling in the margins of his notes.

It was a state he hadn’t found himself in since those early days of his very first bout of puppy love. And while a part of him felt giddy about the unexpected return and what it might signify, the timing of it was decidedly unfortunate. 

Oddly enough, the moments of the day he had come to appreciate the most, during which he had found most calm, were the ones in the late evenings that he would spend in Lily’s company.

He’d handed his room over to her use and had gentlemanly volunteered to take the couch in the living room. One evening, he’d come in to get a fresh shirt out of his wardrobe and had found Lily lying on the bed.

So as not to blush at the sight and the memories it evoked, he focused his attention on the device she was holding.

“Is that a tablet? Looks small.”

Lily glanced up and spared him a smile that immediately made his heartbeat pick up. 

“No, it’s an e-reader.”

“Really? I haven’t seen one up close. Must be convenient.”

“It is. Reading relaxes me so it’s a good way to ensure I always have a whole library with me.”

Lily grinned at him, and by that point, James had wholly forgotten about his shirts and his wardrobe. 

He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“What are you reading?” he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

“Just started this murder mystery,” Lily said. “It’s been nice so far.”

“Sounds cool,” James said. Then, a little wistfully, he added: “Haven’t been able to read a book in ages myself.”

“Really?” Lily, who clearly must be an avid reader seemed almost scandalised by this. “How come?”

“I guess all the research papers in uni put me off from some of it. Mostly though it’s like I just can't concentrate enough to take in the information, you know?”

“Ahh, makes sense. Sitting still doesn’t seem to be your forte,” Lily commented, her eyes twinkling in a way that softened the teasing.

James let out a short laugh. “That’s too true.”

“Maybe you should give audiobooks a try,” Lily suggested.

Feeling bold, James took a leap. “Maybe you could try reading out loud.”

Lily blinked, but rather than outright sputter at the idea, she tilted her head in thought. 

“Would you really like that?”

“Yeah I think that would be nice,” James said, the glimmer of hope in his heart gaining strength.

And that was how, every evening now, James and Lily would both be lying down on his bed while Lily read the murder mystery aloud to him. 

It settled James, in a way few things in life did. He wasn’t sure if it was Lily’s nearness, the warmth of her voice or the engrossing story they were reading.

Most probably some combination of all of them.

All James knew was that he already was dreading their quarantine coming to an end, because as maddening as being stuck in the flat was for him, this new evening routine was something he would sorely miss.

But even more than that, he would miss the company of one Lily Evans.

* * *

  
  


Time had become a strange, mystical creature. Though each day had felt like a slow crawl, the weeks had taken flight.

One morning, while sipping her tea, Lily was momentarily stunned as she realised twelve days had passed. 

In just two more days, she could go home.

Sirius was still sick, but his symptoms had remained mild and he had improved in the past couple of days. By some miracle, neither James nor Lily had contracted the virus, as both of them still felt completely fine. 

Perhaps all James’ maniacal cleaning during the long, slow days of their quarantine had paid off. 

She was smiling into her cup of tea when a bleary-eyed James sat up on his makeshift bed on the sofa and ran his hand through his hair.

“What time is it?”

Lily glanced at her phone. “It’s almost half-seven. I hope I didn’t wake you.”   
“You did,” James said, putting his glasses on, “but it’s fine. I usually wake up much earlier than I have been this whole week.”

“Ah, right,” Lily said, remembering their conversation from several days back. “Well, soon enough you’ll be back jogging every morning.”

“I can’t wait,” James said fervently, earning another smile from Lily.

James got up from the sofa and stretched. 

Lily unashamedly admired his physique while he bent to retrieve his trousers and pulled them on. 

While James walked past her into the cupboard pretending to be the kitchen, Lily busied herself with her breakfast.

James emerged a moment later and sat down at the small table next to her, a cup of coffee in hand.

“You know what’s funny?” Lily asked, after a moment of quiet companionship.

Sirius wouldn’t wake up before 10 o'clock, so they always had mornings to themselves.

“What’s that?” James asked, his elbows propped on the table, biceps curling just below the sleeve of his t-shirt.

“I felt so awkward being here with you guys at first,” Lily confessed. “And now in less than two weeks I’m almost used to this.”

James was silent for a moment, one nervous finger tapping at his coffee mug, his jaw clenching.

Then, he swallowed and met her eyes.

“You know what else is funny?” he asked in a soft voice.

“What?” Lily managed, her own voice hushed by the storm she could see in his hazel eyes. 

Anticipation crept up her spine and she leaned towards him. Her breath caught at the expression flitting across James’ face.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

Lily’s heart leapt and her stomach erupted with the butterflies. She’d barely even processed the words, when James continued, a definite blush colouring his cheeks.

“I mean,” he said with a slight stammer, “obviously you’re looking forward to going home and I want you to go home too and this whole thing has been just one big mess and I feel like we’ve done everything the wrong way around –”

Lily reached across the table and gently took James’ hand that had been restlessly drumming against the tabletop.

He fell silent and when their eyes met, his blush deepened.

James sighed, and run his other hand through his hair, messing it up even more. 

It was a gesture that had become both familiar and endearing to Lily in these past twelve days, and her heart ached. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anyone,” James said at last, squeezing her hand.

“Well then, after I get home you’re gonna have to ring me and ask me out for a real date,” Lily said, unable to hold back the smile blooming on her lips. 

She wasn’t sure either if she’d ever quite felt the way she did right at this moment, wrapped up in the tenderness of James’ obvious regard. 

“Does that mean I’m getting your number after all?” James replied, grinning at her as the mood lightened. 

“Yes.”

They smiled at each other. 

And because it was ridiculous how much her heart could race from just holding hands, Lily couldn’t help adding: “If you fail to ring me, I will hunt you down. After all, I know where you live.”

James burst into laughter. 

Lily had thought she couldn’t be happier than she was just then, watching James laugh. But she was proven wrong in the next moment when his thumb brushed across her knuckles.

Maybe they had done everything the wrong way around as James had said… But it had certainly worked out.

If this was just the beginning, she couldn’t wait to see what would come next.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Two days later, early in the morning, they parted ways.

There were no tears, but they held each other for a long moment, both of them just as unwilling to let go. And the kiss Lily pulled James into in the doorway was lingering as well.

The memory of it still warmed her, as Lily got safely back to her flat. 

The peace and quiet that greeted her were both welcoming and unsettling. After not being alone for so many days, being on her own felt strange. 

But also good.

She kept busy for most of the day, making sure she was stocked up on food and that everything seemed clean and nice. 

She might no longer be in quarantine, but the news of the virus seemed to get worse and scarier day after day, so she was in no hurry to get back out there.

That evening, Lily was happy – no, she was ecstatic – to be lying in her own bed at last. 

It was smaller than the one she’d slept during her quarantine and her sheets didn’t carry James’ scent… But snuggled into a small mountain of pillows she was perfectly comfortable even as she frowned at the e-reader in her lap. 

She couldn’t continue the book. The words kept getting stuck somewhere between her eyes and her restless brain. She couldn’t concentrate on the story when her mind was busy reminiscing the evening moments spent in James' company.

A smile tugged at her lips until the sound of her ringtone dragged her away from the memories. 

Lily reached for her phone, the smile turning into a proper grin as she saw the name on the display.

“Hello?” she answered the phone.

“So I’d ask you out,” James’ voice drawled from the other end, “but it seems there’s a global pandemic out there.”

“That does sound like a small drawback,” Lily replied, falling right back into the easy banter, as if she’d never left.

“Raincheck on the date?” James said.

“Definitely. I’m not letting you off the hook so easily,” Lily said.

“Good. I’m very comfortable on the hook,” James said, earning a laugh from Lily. “But now to the real business.”

“Which is?” 

“So the investigator was lured into the cellar, right? And then the door was bolted shut. Does he get out? How?”

Lily snuggled back into her pillows, her smile so wide her cheeks were starting to hurt. 

“Well you’ll have to listen and find out,” she told him.

Then, she picked up the e-reader with her free hand and began to read out loud.

  
  
  
  



End file.
